Prosocial and Antisocial Behaviors

Morality, Cooperation, and Forgiveness

  • Prosocial Behavior: Actions intended to benefit others or society, including respecting others, enabling societal function, and adhering to fairness and justice principles.

    • Examples: Donations, helping those in need, obeying rules, cooperating.
    • Reciprocity: Returning favors or kindness.
    • Equality: Belief in equal distribution regardless of contribution; violations lead to feelings of anger (underbenefit) or guilt (overbenefit).

  • Morality: Codes of conduct guiding individuals on right and wrong.

    • Moral Reasoning: Logical deductions for moral judgments.
      • Kohlberg's Stages of Moral Reasoning
    • Moral Intuitions: Automatic judgments based on emotions.

  • Cooperation: Working together for mutual benefit, crucial for social group success.

    • Cooperators vs. Competitors: Cooperation linked to positive outcomes.
    • Prisoner's Dilemma: A game illustrating the tension between competition and cooperation.
      • Prisoner’s dilemma: a game that forces people to choose between competition and cooperation
    • Non-Zero-Sum Game: Both players can win or lose.
      • Zero-sum games, e.g., poker, one wins (+1) and another loses (-1) in the same amount
    • How to Increase Cooperation:
      • Threats of violence (within the group).
      • Altruistic punishment (sacrificing to punish rule-breakers).
      • Gossip (spreading reputations to enforce rules).
      • Communication.

  • Forgiveness: Ceasing anger and retribution against wrongdoers.

    • Benefits: Improved physical and mental health; stronger relationships, even with serious issues.
    • Factors Influencing Forgiveness:
      • Belief in similar potential wrongdoing.
      • Religiousness.
      • Compassion.
      • Empathy.

Obedience and Conformity

  • Obedience: Following commands from authority figures, an extreme form of conformity.
    • Milgram Experiment:
      • Sought to understand the Holocaust.
      • Participants (